Dr. Trishan Bali

Emily says: "I was lucky enough to be paired with Doctor Trishan Bali, an A&E doctor working in Manchester. It has been a pleasure to get involved and paint such an inspiring individual. As soon as I received the selfie to paint I knew that is was a great pairing. The image resonates with my own studio practice and concerns with screen culture in contemporary figurative painting."

Dr. Trishan says: "At the start of the advent of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) it was my birthday, and as well as messages wishing me well I was also bombarded by inquiries from my concerned family and friends as to whether I was okay in dealing with the changing times at work; they anxieties had been heightened by what they read and heard about the risks posed to staff serving on the frontlines of the pandemic. Therefore, being geographically isolated from my loved ones I sought to address this by sending a selfie of myself in good spirits to make it clear that I was coping well and not letting things get on top of me. The picture I submitted for the #portraitsforNHSheroes initiative was one of many that I took for my family, but it was chosen as I imagine I will look back on it with the profound recollection of a turbulent time for all of us when I was very grateful to work and contribute to the collective struggle alongside my esteemed colleagues. An average day for me is spent arriving on the Emergency Department either in the morning, afternoon or evening and being to assigned to work in areas of the workplace dedicated to treating patients with either minor illness or injuries (those that manage to walk in) or more poorly patients (those that tend to come by ambulance). We assess and treat and wide range of problems that people come in with - from 'bumps and bruises' to psychiatric issues to life-threatening sepsis to major trauma.

I think the #portraitsforNHSheroes is a fantastic project showing an appreciation for a group of key workers during this time, and at the very least has given a large collective of passionate artists (of whom yourself (Emily) I have been particularly impressed by) an opportunity to flex their talents during lockdown.

When I asked why this image of Dr. Bali winking was chosen he explained: “Being geographically isolated from my loved ones I sought to address this by sending a selfie of myself in good spirits to make it clear that I was coping well and not letting things get on top of me. The picture I submitted for the #portraitsforNHSheroes initiative was one of many that I took for my family, but it was chosen as I imagine I will look back on it with the profound recollection of a turbulent time for all of us when I was very grateful to work and contribute to the collective struggle alongside my esteemed colleagues.” I hope this small portrait will bring as much joy as it did to me painting it."